COMPLETE YOUR THESIS STEP BY STEP
On this page, you will find the official guidelines by the ELEC school of Aalto regarding the master thesis process. Please read it carefully, this is the first step!
Activity completion: you can mark the activity as completed manually once you have read the complete guidelines provided on the page.
This initial meeting is set to discuss the big picture of the thesis and agree on "who will do what". For that, either the thesis is carried out in Aalto, or outside in a company.
A - Before the meeting
It is agreed that the student initiates the discussion and if it is a company thesis that the student arranges this first meeting (for example by putting in contact the company advisors and Martin)
B - During the meeting
This meeting is considered the official starting date of the master thesis work. Some of the discussion points in the agenda:
- Definition of roles and duties (student, supervisors, advisors, etc.)
- Definition of the topic and discussion around initial objectives
- Discussion around the initial research plan and timeline
- Discussion about grading, thesis guidelines, possible courses to follow and services to help writing the thesis.
- If company work, discussion about confidentiality and possible patents
- Discussion about next steps (apply for topic approval, work, etc.)
The student is charged to write the minutes of the meeting. These minutes will be transmitted to all involved parties and submitted also here to complete the assignment.
Activity completion: submit the minutes here as a separate document
- Definition of roles and duties (student, supervisors, advisors, etc.)
You should apply for approval of the thesis topic as soon as you start the thesis process. It means that you apply to the next deadline after the initial thesis meeting.
"The final title of the thesis emerges during the thesis work, and it has to be within the field of the original topic application. The thesis topic is officially approved by the Degree Programme Committee. Committee also approves the language of the thesis as well as the thesis supervisor and advisor(s)."
Activity completion: please manually check the box when the topic approval has been submitted
During the initial thesis meeting, we probably discussed some research objectives and a first timeline (the target is 6 months to complete the work starting the day of the initial thesis meeting).
Based on this discussion, and first drafts submitted by supervisors/advisors if available, elaborate a first research plan (typically 2-3 pages), containing at least the following elements:
- The tentative title of the thesis (it can change afterward).
- List of involved people and their roles.
- Introduction and motivation of the work ("why doing this research?"). You will also include several key references from the literature (they are usually provided by your supervisor/advisors).
- Objectives of the thesis ("What are we planning to do?").
- Timeline ("How will the work be organized").
Activity completion: please upload the document here.
Writing your master thesis is not a straightforward process. There are documents that can help you, including this one written by Kenneth Peddington from Aalto's language center. Also, our Language Centre offers individual writing tutoring for a total of eight hours per academic year. There you will get personal feedback on your academic writing from language experts at our Language Centre.
NOTE: during the revision of the thesis the supervisor/advisors may only have a limited time to help making your text better. If the text is not well written it may prevent questions/discussions about the core technical work, in fact reducing the quality of the thesis overall. Hence, it is your final responsibility to judge whether you need to improve writing and need support but as a supervisor I very strongly recommend using it.
Activity completion: you have read the document and considered to get support from the writing clinic, then check the box manually.
For thesis check and submission, we will use Turnitin. It is a tool that will check for any plagiarism, which is strictly forbidden, specifically in any scientific document. During the writing process, you can submit a set of drafts to be reviewed, and the general rule is that all these drafts must go through turnitin. The final version of the thesis will also be uploaded there.
For all instructions, please look at the Turnitin submissions section to have all guidelines.
Once you have a draft ready, go to the Turnitin submissions section and submit it. Currently, you can submit up to 5 drafts, but it is not necessary. If you need more than 5 drafts you can also add them following the instructions on the page. Then, you can submit the thesis versions used for grading and before pre-examination.
Activity completion: manually check the box when you have submitted your final thesis version (satisfying, no?)
In order to finalize your thesis process you also need to do a thesis seminar.
Usually, you will agree with the supervisor on the time and place of this seminar. The supervisor will also advertise it to colleagues and if applicable to a larger audience.
"Please note that as of 31 December 2019 the seminar presentation must be completed the latest in the deadline for submitting theses and applications."
Activity completion: please submit your final presentation slides here once the seminar has been held.
After everything else is set, you have to ask for the approval of your thesis. You will there upload again your final thesis. Both your supervisor, who provides a grade statement, and the degree program committee, will evaluate and grade the thesis, based on this version only. This will also be the final archived version.
Activity completion: the final version has been uploaded for topic approval.